A feature article in Sunday's edition of The Province ripping Kelowna as a drunken, violent city overrun by gangs and out-of-control sprawl obviously didn't sit too well at City Hall.

Mayor Walter Gray characterized the three page spread as a piece of 'lazy reporting' that was 'void of statistics' and lacked proof of the comments it made.

"I think the story was driven by the double murder in Westbank (last Monday) and they compiled that with the murder at the Grand Hotel and said 'My God,' Kelowna is the new crime capital of Canada and they started to develop a story out of it with a lot of lazy reporting," stated Gray following Monday's sitting of City Council.

"It's disappointing and it hurts our community pride, although I haven't had one citizen call me an say you're right or they're right or you shouldn't be slagged like that.  I guess it's one pof those stories that will come and go and fills a lot of space in a newspaper from Vancouver that appeals to younger males who want to buy electronics."

He says the story was very damaging.

Read full Province story.